“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Rita Mae Brown As we count down to the new year, it is important to remember that a day rolling over or a new year starting is not going to immediately change our outcomes. I often hear people saying that the new year will be different, meaning that they expect this year to be a better year than the last. However, the problem with this philosophy is that the dates on the calendar have min

“You have to love yourself. That’s the single most powerful thing. Out of that springs: How are you eating? How are you exercising? How are you resting?” -Nia Peeples We have reached the time of year when many of us are taking some extra time off to rest. However, I know a lot of that time may also not be as restful as we hope. Instead of taking some time to slow down and reflect, we spend it running all over the place and going to different functions. While I definitely want

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” -William Arthur Ward When this time of year comes around, it is a great reminder to think about your purpose in life. I have worked with a lot of people to help them figure out what their purpose is, and I can confidently say the people who figure it out have one common thread. It always involves other people. One of the basic principles of life is that we need other people to make it fulf

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” -Richard Branson As many of my college football fans will be aware, today is the first day where new recruits can sign to join your team for the upcoming year. However, as modern day college fans know, just because someone signs with your team it doesn’t mean they will be there long term. People have all kinds of motivations for why they would choose one team over another: money, playi

“Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.” -Roy T. Bennett My class this week had a conversation about motivation. The question came up, “What can I do to motivate someone to invest in themselves if they don’t seem to be self-motivated?” My answer was very simple. I don’t think you currently know what motivates them. A mistake many leaders make is assuming that because something is motivating to them that it will be motivating to their team member(s). Howev

“I worry about the things I can affect, and the things I have no control over I move by.” -Lenny Wilkens A great mystery to me is how much humans want to be in control. The reason this continues to astound me is because there are so many things going on in our day that we have no control over. The desire to have control isn’t an inherently negative one, but have you ever gotten caught up trying to maintain control over something that you can’t possibly change/fix? When this o

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves; ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” -Vicki Harrison When I think about loss, there are a lot of days where you can feel like the protagonist in a movie or tv show when they are getting tossed about by the water. The scenes where they get pulled under and are fighting to catch their breath. The only big difference is that we know they will make it becaus

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” -Theodore Roosevelt I was working with leaders this week and we were talking about service. An attendee asked, “What do we do if a customer comes in with a request that will take time, but we have a team member who has to leave?” Now this is a great question because it is a real question. I have lived in those moments wh

“Be patient with yourself. You are growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter…and you will begin to shine brighter. Don’t give up. -Robert Tew As we wrapped up baseball season for my boys the other day, I realized how often we don’t stop to appreciate growth and development. As coaches, we were discussing how far the boys had come over the past few months. During the season, I didn’t stop to reflect on the growth of each player because growth is s

“Losers have tons of variety. Champions just take pride in learning to hit the same old boring winning shots.” -Vic Braden Sometimes we can over complicate simple things. We want something to be exciting and engaging or we mentally check out a little bit. Has that ever happened to you? The idea that things we do repeatedly get boring can be a predictor to whether or not we will achieve the results we want. If we decide to try something new to “mix it up” instead of sticking w

“An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experiences.” -James Baldwin An important part...

“There is no better life than a life spent laboring at love - exerting effort not because we have to, but because we believe that what we...

“Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up hope. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm...

“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses.” -William Arthur Ward I...

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” -Desmond Tutu At one point in my career, I was able to hear...

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no...

“A leader must be able to look a subordinate or superior square in the eye and tell him what the problem is and what needs to be done to...

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” -Galileo Galilei The truth of the world we...

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those...

“The greatest danger in business and life lies not in outright failure but in achieving success without understanding why you were...